Easy Peasy Mung Bean Chicken and Cilantro Soup

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything in Earth Mama’s Kitchen. I apologize for my absence.

Last year I had two heart attacks and three heart surgeries (one failed). It has now been one year since my last surgery, and I’m trying to get back to writing as well as many of my previous activities.

I found out the hard way that I have extremely small arteries. When you have small arteries, even a tiny accumulation of oxidized cholesterol can cause huge problems. So can small blood clots.

So, while I’ve been on a quest to eat more nutritiously for a few years, I am even more diligent now. I want to live life optimally. My belief is part of attaining that optimal life is in attitude, spirituality and choosing healthy options for nutrition and exercise.

I love to look at the nutritional information of the foods I use when I’m preparing a meal. It just makes me feel better eating sprouted mung beans after reading about their nutritive value. The fact that (to me) mung beans are much better in taste and texture than other beans, is secondary to the fact that they are so healthy to my body.

High in protein and amino acids, mung beans also contribute high levels of vitamins and minerals to aid healing my body. One hundred percent of the folate my body requires is in one cup of mung beans. Folate helps reduce homocysteine levels. High homocysteine levels have been associated with heart problems. Folate helps form red blood cells, metabolize the protein I ingest, and helps cell and tissue growth and division. It’s important for DNA synthesis, hormonal balance, cognitive function and for those of you still young enough, reproduction.

Mung beans are considered anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory. They supply magnesium, vitamin B1, manganese, zinc, and small amounts of Pantothenic Acid, vitamin B6 and calcium. That’s a pretty good inclusion in anyone’s diet!

I cook the mung beans in chicken broth or bone broth if I have it, along with garlic and just enough chicken to give it good flavor. And then, I crown this tasty soup with a full cup of chopped cilantro and a half cup of parsley (root included).

Cilantro is an amazing herb. Being high in essential oils, and flavonoids it has excellent anxiety relieving qualities and calms the nervous system. Loaded with anti-oxidants, it is good for the heart because it can inhibit heart muscle damage. It is anti-fungal. Cilantro can lower blood glucose and cholesterol levels. Impressively, the active compounds in cilantro bind to toxic metals and remove them from the body along with the rest of the waste. Dr. Yoshiaki Omura discovered cilantro in Vietnamese soup removed mercury, aluminum and lead. Another study revealed it removed cadmium.

I’m so fond of cilantro that I use it in a smoothie I make with grapefruit juice, cilantro, chlorella, spirulina and a little barley grass juice. Delicious!

I smash and chop the garlic and let it set for at least five minutes to activate the medicinal allicin before I add it to the pot. Cook the mung beans in the chicken broth with the salt and pepper for about an hour. Chop and add the chicken, cilantro and parsley. Stir in the garlic. Let simmer to release all the flavors for another hour. Serve with a crusty bread, if desired.

2 thoughts on “Easy Peasy Mung Bean Chicken and Cilantro Soup”

I actually found mine at the health food store. But they are also available at amazon. I have purchased both sprouted and not sprouted. It’s easy to “sprout” them. Just soak them in water for 24 hours, sometimes it may take two days. But for the meal I fixed in this article, I just soaked them overnight and then cooked as you would any other bean. Because they are small, it doesn’t take as long as say, pinto beans would.